Altering Fate
by PhoenixMageFire
Summary: What I think would have happen if Van hadn't dropped Hitomi when they were lifted from Fanelia.
1. Default Chapter

Standard disclaimer applies. I don't own Escaflowne and I'm not lucky enough to personally know those who do. I'm just borrowing the characters.

Altering Fate: Prologue_________________________________________________________________________

Van sighed in exasperation and ran a hand through his hair. The ashes he dislodged didn't help his mood much. They only served to remind him of the past day. Of Fanelia.

Fanelia, it's lush forests and beautiful cities burned to the ground. Her people were, scattered, his kingdom was lost, and to top it all of, HE was lost!

And it was all that girl's fault. Well, Van couldn't blame the destruction of his country on her, but she was definitely responsible for their being lost.

"Judging from the stars, this is definitely Geae," he said mostly to himself. "But where?" This question was directed towards the figure sitting half in shadow at the base of Escaflowne. "Well," he demanded. "Do you know?"

"Know what?" Her reply was muffled slightly because of how her head rested on her arms. Van frowned.

"Where we are of coarse what did you think I was asking girl."

"Hitomi," she said in response. "My name is Hitomi." This only made the young king frown more deeply.

"Yeah, so?"

"People have names for a reason, Van." She stressed his own name to make her point and lifted her head to lock eyes with him.

Yet again, Van was startled by the color and intensity of her eyes, and was lost in their depth for a moment. But only for a moment. He recognized the look on her face. Hitomi had worn that expression when she slapped him after the dragon slaying right.

Wisely, he didn't press the matter. For one, he was unaccustomed to being slapped, and two, she could hit pretty hard for a girl.

No, not a girl. Van inspected her more closely. She looked to be at least fifteen rotations. That made her more of a woman that a girl.

"Well, come on. Get up," Van commanded her, extending a hand to help her up. Hitomi looked up at him without her previous expression of anger, wearing one of surprise instead. Unknowingly his eyes softened just a bit as she tentatively put her small hand in his large one. "If we're lost," he continued walking over to Escaflowne and climbing into the control chamber, "the best way to be found is to pick a direction and start walking until we find some people. Why don't you sit up here? That way I won't have to worry about you getting left behind."

Van knelt down and lifted Hitomi up gingerly and set her on his guymelef's broad shoulder. "It's going to be difficult to navigate this swap," he said casually. "It might take us a few days, maybe a week. It all depends on the condition of the ground." 'Great,' he thought bitterly. 'Stuck for who knows how long in who knows where with some girl from the Mystic Moon. This is going to be such fun.'

* * * * *

A shadowed figure knelt by the deep tracks in the ground. A 'melef had been here recently. Hmm. Interesting. Two sets of tracks began suddenly along with the depression from the 'melef, but one set ended abruptly with no signs of a struggle. That meant the owner of the vanished footprints was probably being carried by the 'melef's pilot then.

Oh, well. He would track them down. He had time, and he didn't like to leave a mystery like this unsolved.

To be continued...____________________________________________________________________________

Well, there it is. I've been torturing myself with the idea of writing a fanfic for half a year now. However... Please, (down on knees) help me! I have writers block and I don't know what to do next! If anyone out there has an idea, feel free to tell me.


	2. Altering Fate: Chapter 1

Standard disclaimer applies. I don't own Escaflowne, though I wish I did. I'm just borrowing the characters to satisfy my own petty fantasies.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who wrote to me with your suggestions and support. You make it all worthwhile.

AlteringFate: Chapter1___________________________________________________________

"Really, Van. Are you always this hot-headed, or did spending last week in a swamp make you irritable?" The boy in front of her didn't reply. Hitomi sighed deeply and took the small pot off the cooking fire. She settled down behind her 'patient' and focused on the task at hand. It was a little difficult. Van wasn't fidgeting, but he himself was…distracting.

Dipping a scrap of cloth into the steaming water beside her, she began to dab at the gash on his shoulders. "This might sting a little."

"Ouch. You can this a little?" Well, she'd gotten a reaction out of him. Not necessarily one she would have wished for, but it was a start.

"Men are such babies. It's only a little hot water." Van grumbled something inaudible under his breath and the two lapsed into silence for a moment. Ringing the cloth out and returning it to the water Hitomi started again. "You know, I didn't ask for your help back there at the inn."

"I wouldn't have been much of a man to make you deal with him yourself," he responded.

"What is it with you and this machoism stuff?" Hitomi admonished. "The guy that was hitting on me was so drunk I could've pushed him over with a finger. You didn't need to start a brawl." His features hardened a little under her ridicule. "You're lucky that his buddy only got a glancing blow with that bottle he hit you with." She hesitated a moment before continuing. "I was worried."

"You don't have to worry about me." He sounded confident, but his answer only made her more anxious.

* * * * *

"What's taking you so long? You should have found it by now!" There was a resounding smack as a gloved hand found the cheek of a young man.

"Forgive me, Lord." He sunk to the deck in a humbling bow. "There is still no word of a strange guymelef anywhere our spies are located." His superior glowered at him with burning red eyes.

"Then we'll just have to expand our network," he ordered. "Leave, and send a request to General Adelphis for more men."

"As you desire, sir."

"Well," the man said when he was alone. "You're certainly proving hard to find. I only hope you'll be as challenging in combat." A smile, ugly on his handsome features, tugged at his lips. "It would be such a shame to waist all this time and energy and kill you too easily."

To be Continued…_____________________________________________________________

Well, it's the end of another addition of my story. We still don't know who the shadowed figure is, and I've stuck another character into the mix. Three guesses to who it is. I'm also going to need five reviews to make Van and Hitomi kiss by the end of the next chapter.


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